Microsoft Nixes EU Hearing Over Scheduling Conflict

Microsoft on Thursday announced that it has cancelled an antitrust hearing about its Internet Explorer browser after the European Commission refused to move the date.

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If the European Commission holds an antitrust hearing and no one attends, did it ever really happen?

Apparently not. Microsoft on Thursday announced that it has cancelled a hearing about its Internet Explorer browser after the Commission refused to move the date.

"We asked for an opportunity to present our arguments at a hearing, which is a right afforded to defendants under European Commission procedures," Dave Heiner, vice president and deputy general counsel at Microsoft, wrote in a blog post. "The dates the Commission selected for our hearing, June 3-5, coincide with the most important worldwide intergovernmental competition law meeting, the International Competition Network (ICN) meeting" in Zurich.

"As a result, it appears that many of the most influential Commission and national competition officials with the greatest interest in our case will be in Zurich and so unable to attend our hearing in Brussels," he wrote.

The European Commission opened an investigation into Microsoft in January, accusing the company of illegally tying Internet Explorer to its Windows operating system. U.S. regulators brought similar charges against the company in the 1990's, a case that was settled in 2002.

Microsoft requested a date change for the hearing, arguing that there is no legal reason the hearing has to be held the first week in June.

"We believe that holding the hearing at a time when key officials are out of the country would deny Microsoft our effective right to be heard and hence deny our 'rights of defense' under European law," he wrote.

"Unfortunately, the Commission has informed us that June 3-5 are the only dates that a suitable room is available in Brussels for a hearing," he said. "Thus, the Commission has declined to reschedule the hearing despite our offer to find and outfit a suitable room ourselves at another time."

Microsoft said the Commission made an effort to persuade the major players to remain in Brussels for the hearing, but the company has confirmed that "many senior officials and national competition authority representatives" will instead travel to Zurich for ICN.

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As a result it "does not make sense" to continue with the meeting, Heiner wrote. "Microsoft maintains its request for a hearing at a different date, [but] that request has been denied and the Commission hearing officer has deemed Microsoft to have withdrawn its request for a hearing."

As for the case itself, Microsoft believes "we have a strong defense to this claim, especially given the remedies put in place by the U.S. courts and the widespread usage of competing browsers," he said. "It is too early to know how the case will end, but whatever happens Microsoft is absolutely committed to offering Windows 7 in Europe in a manner that is fully compliant with European law."

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 3:45 pm Eastern time to clarify that Microsoft has not withdrawn its request for a hearing.

Chloe Albanesius has been with PCMag.com since April 2007, most recently as Executive Editor for News and Features. Prior to that, she worked for a year covering financial IT on Wall Street for Incisive Media. From 2002 to 2005, Chloe covered technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from American University...
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